Lion Family Caught Injured Fox: Then, the Unexpected…

Graham Dyer is a photographer who decided to watch a herd of lions one day when he was able to capture the unexpected. Often times, photographers have to wait long and exhausting days without being able to capture much of anything interesting at all.

It is a rare occasion to catch animal behavior out of the ordinary, but when it happens, it can be amazing. Graham’s patience paid off well one day when he was able to capture a remarkable story of a family of lions and their journey of making an unexpected companion. Click through to see the incredible story Graham was able to capture!

18. It Was A Normal Day In The Safari

At first, it just seemed like a regular old day of lion observing. While it can sometimes be rare to capture beautiful photographs of animals in wildlife at all, what Graham was about to capture was exceptionally stunning. What he thought would be a normal day turned out to be something he would remember forever…

17. The Head Lion Heard Something Concerning

Suddenly, the head of the family, a large male lion, heard something that startled his rest. He quickly interrupted his nap to begin investigating. Not only was the lion excited, but Graham was as well to see what could possibly have the lion so excited. Was he about to fight off a predator? Capture lunch? Quite the opposite, Graham would soon find out.

16. A Fox Has Been Hurt

The male lion approaches to find this scene, his female queen investigating an injured fox. The female lion seems to be cool and collected, not immediately attacking. Graham quickly realizes that this little fox has been injured by something. Graham isn’t able to see what, or who, might have hurt him, but it is apparent there’s been some harm done to his back legs, as normally the fox would be long gone by now after running into the large lion. You’ll never guess what happened next…

15. The Female Decides She Needs To Protect

Once the male approaches, he’s quick to decide that he either wants to kill the fox for food, or kill him to defend his family. The lioness has opposite intentions, as she wants to instead protect the fox as best as possible. She for sure isn’t afraid to fight off her king and do whatever it takes to protect the already hurt fox. He seems to understand this, and lays off a bit, letting her have what she wants like a true queen. How did the king of the jungle do next?

14. The Rest Of The Herd Grows Curious

Once the king backs off, everyone can begin to calm down a little bit. After all the commotion of the lions fighting and the fox whining out in pain, the rest of the herd decides to come explore what is happening. The cubs grow extremely curious. It’s rare for them to run into a nonthreatening animal, especially one the size of them! The mother isn’t afraid of the fox, and protects him, showing that he’s not dangerous and neither are her little cubbies.

13. The Fox Doesn’t Leave Mama’s Side

Still scared, the fox refuses to leave the queen mama’s side as he meets the rest of the family. Everyone else seems relaxed as well, and just want to investigate and explore what’s going on with the fox. The fox is still hurt, however, so he can’t get completely comfortable yet. He’s still quite defensive and scared, but the rest of the herd is being as welcoming and calm as possible to help out the fox in his stressful time.

12. The Lion No Longer Wants To Eat The Fox

The male lion seems comfortable around the fox now, and no longer wishes to harm the fox. Now it’s time to decide what to do! The fox understands now that they aren’t a threat, and he’s able to lay down a bit, no longer fearing too much for his life. He still can’t go far because of his injuries, and he’s made it clear he’s still too uneasy to leave the queen lioness’s side.

11. Everyone Can Finally Relax

After all of the commotion, everyone decides it’s time to relax for a bit and get a little warm sunlight while the sun is still out. The fox has gotten to know everyone in the herd and has decided that they will be an ok fit for the time being. The queen mama doesn’t have any plans to leave her new adopted son’s side, and decides to take a quick nap with him.

10. It’s Time To Move On

The king has decided that it’s time to move on. The sun is setting, which means that soon predators will be out and the lion can’t risk running into any threats with all of his little cubs that he has to watch over. The fox seems to oppose however; he’s still pretty hurt and doesn’t seem to be able to stand quite yet. The mom doesn’t seemed concerned about moving on quite yet either, and doesn’t want to leave the fox’s side.

9. Mom Still Calls The Shots

Like a true queen, the mama lioness calls the final shot and decides that they are staying put, as the fox just isn’t well enough to travel with the family, or stay alone without the protection of the mama. However, some commotion is heard and cries of threats echo through the safari that concern Graham. The lions clearly hear it. Maybe the king was right, maybe they should have left when they had the chance.

8. What Happened To The Fox?

Graham grows concerned as he loses sight of the fox and part of the herd. He also hears what sounds to be like fighting. The rest of the family quickly gets together and look to be concerned, a much different attitude than the relaxed vibe they just had while napping. Graham grows concerned as well. Did someone capture the fox? Is what he heard the fox being hunted? The lions don’t seem too concerned, but without seeing the fox, the worst can be assumed.

7. The Fox Still Can’t Be Found

The fox is still nowhere in sight. Graham is extremelly concerened now, as it is apparent that the lions have been feeding on something. The lions cubs are cheery and playful and look as though they have been eating or getting into something. Graham assumes the worst, and figures the lions got too hungry and impatient and decided the fox was dinner instead of a friend. However, it seems unlikely that the once protective mom would let this happen. The story isn’t over yet!

6. He Seems To Be Fine!

Graham is able to spot the fox once again! It seems as though he’s fine as well, and doing a little better than he was before! Perhaps the nap helped him! It’s clearly bathtime for the baby cubs, meaning they must have just feasted. Graham discovered that the lions met up with another herd close by after they caught dinner. The fox is fine, the cubs are full, and everything seems to be Ok again. However, the fox isn’t completely out of harm’s way just yet.

5. He’s Not Completely Out Of Harm’s Way

Graham stated he wasn’t able to get it on camera, but at one point, two hungry jackals came up and attacked the fox. The lions got a little too relaxed post dinner, and the fox ran off scared of what might happen with the jackals. The lions watch the fight and commotion, scared of what is going to happen to their new friend. The fox can’t move too fast, and definitely can’t attack off two predators much larger than him during his injured time.

4. The Lions Can’t Get Involved

Although the lions are much larger and outnumber the two jackals, they still can’t risk getting involved. The king and queen have all of their little babies to watch over, and they can’t risk losing one of their own to defend an injured fox that they just met! It’s best for them to just stay out of it and watch over their family. Lions have enough enemies as is it is, and they don’t need anymore threats to their large and growing family. Although it’s devastating, it’s best if they just stay out of it. The story still isn’t over yet though!

3. He Was Able To Defend Himself!

The fox was able to defend himself and escape from the jackals! It’s truly a miracle that he was able to get away from two animals who were much stronger than him. They probably decided that either the fox wasn’t worth the fight anyways, as he’s tiny and injured, or they saw his large and threatening squad standing behind him having his back! That fox was definitely extremely lucky to have such a strong family behind his back!

2. He Came A Long Way!

The fox surely has come a long way since the beginning of his tragic journey. At first, he was just an injured little guy who wasn’t sure if he was going to make it. He met an amazing friend, a beautiful queen lioness who would do almost anything to make sure he wouldn’t be harmed. He easily could’ve been the dinner of any animal in the kingdom, especially the royal family! But instead, he was able to become one of them! Such a sly little fox!

1. The Fox Is Doing OK!

Graham stated that even a couple days later he still saw the fox with the family of lions and he seemed to be making a full recovery! What those lions were able to do was truly amazing. The lions have the most power in the animal kingdom, so the fact that they chose to help an injured animal instead of hurt him is truly incredible! It’s not often that such a beautiful story is seen in the wild animal kingdom!

What Graham was able to capture through his photography was truly amazing. He just thought it would be a normal day of big cat watching, but instead, he got a story that captured the hearts of many readers. Some people were critical of the situation, stating that Graham instead should have just helped the fox.

However, he didn’t need to! The fox had a family of lions on his side, and if Graham got involved, he might have had to deal with the backlash of the lions! Nature is beautiful, and getting involved can make things worse, so it is usually best to let things play out their course. The course of these animal’s stories turned out to be a miracle!